Nolan Carroll recovering from nightmare game

He admits frustration from drawing four penalties for 56 yards

DAVIE – Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll was kicked back, chilling in front of his locker, as usual, in the lockerroom Monday. He joked with teammates and did all the things he normally does.

He’s scarred, but recovering from his four-penalties-for-56-yards performance in Thursday’s 19-14 loss at Buffalo. Carroll said he’s OK mentally. But he admits it was frustrating to see flag after flag after flag after flag. Pass interference. Pass interference. Illegal contact. Defensive holding.

“I kept putting them behind me,” he said. “When it happed the first time I was like, ‘OK, it happened.’ Then it happened again and I was like, ‘OK.’ And I just continued to play. I wouldn’t let them get me off my game.

“But anytime they called it I was getting real frustrated. I’m coming up to them and asking them, ‘What else do you guys want me to do? What can I do?’ “.

Carroll, one of the most level-headed guys on the team, has a pretty good attitude about his forgettable night. He called it a “learning experience.” And he said the referee crew might have had something to do with things.

“They were the No. 1 team in the NFL as far as calling penalties so I should have expected that a little bit, but nothing like that. But it is what it is. Just can’t let it happen again that’s all.”

I wasn’t able to confirm whether that crew was, in fact, No. 1 in calling penalties. But they were in Carroll’s head. He denies it, but they were there. They created doubt.

“You play within your technique and you’re trying to do what you need to do, and here comes a flag,” he said. “You see that and the next time you line up again and try to do what you’re supposed to do, and they throw another one.

“And so now you’re starting to think about, ‘How can I change up my technique to not get called?’ Stuff that you’ve been practicing for so long, they’re starting to call that.”

This week begins the process of putting it back together. It might take a couple of weeks. Seattle will be the first test. If Carroll is aggressive against Seahawks receivers Golden Tate and Sidney Rice we’ll know he’s back. If he’s a little timid he might still be nursing a fresh wound.

The coaches have done their part in Carroll’s recovery, and it sounds as though they’ve been convincing.

“They told me a lot of those calls are questionable calls, things that could go either way,” Carroll said. “A lot of times our coaches have seen calls like that never get called, and there’s been other times where they’ve seen calls like that get called. It all depends on who are the referees, (and) if they allow you to play and if they don’t allow you to play.

“They were strict that night. They really wouldn’t let us play too much. It’s a learning experience. You’ve just got to fight it out, grind it out. You can’t let it get in your head, just continue to play.”